The names speak for themselves: Ascension, Assail, Attack. Unbeaten, Unbending, Undaunted. Empire, Indefatigable, Espoir. Dreadnought. Sans Pareil. Victory. For over two hundred years, from 1700 until World War II, Britain regulated and largely ruled the world, through an uncontested control of the seas. Neither shy nor embarrassed, the British frankly proclaimed their confidence and ambition in the names of their imperial ships: Dominion, Dictator, Destiny. Any challenge risked an encounter with HMS Devastation. They were Indomitable, Invincible, Irresistible. And Inflexible, Impregnable, even Insolent. Reveling in self-assurance, conceding nothing, free of doubt, above all intimidating. It seems, now, so vain. But they had guts. The sheer nerve of it!